There are people who like PayPal, and I think we can set up a merchant account that processes secure transactions while also accommodating those who prefer PayPal. But having PayPal as the baseline conduit turns a lot of people off. It was in the comments, and I’m guessing it’s because there have been so many phishing scams associated with faux-PayPal.

Yes, that is one big reason. No sooner had I opened an account with them then I was bombed by both real and phising email and junkmail. Then, when the credi card expiration passed (their “security”) I was bombed twice as much by both. There is just something wrong with their system. It LEAKS email addresses.

RT, I very much regret that you or anyone was told off for EPUing. I can’t understand anyone’s reson for doing that, and I apologize you were treated that way.

Thanks, Kirk, I appreciate. But isn’t it pretty easy for people to tell that a new thread has begun? All one has to do is refresh the main FDL page. And why is it important to know? Why should it matter?

I mean, there’s no point in commenting on two-day-old posts, because nobody’s reading the comments anymore. But other than that…

There’s something about the way this community operates that is just sideways to me. There’s nothing wrong with that, I’m kinda sideways to a lot of things. It just means I should hang out somewhere else. So I read the posts here that interest me, but pretty much skip the comments.

But if you don’t mind, WTF does ‘EPU’ mean?

I would be unlikely to pay through any other method. But on the other hand, since my family is having some financial difficulty, I can’t say that I’m going to be contributing gobs. However I would like to have the option if/when things improve. thanks

How about this (if the site software could be made to handle it, that is): Assign each $5 donor a password, valid for a month and linked to their username. Then, whenever an identified donor posts a comment, the software tags the comment with some sort of “Donor” identifier — an image of a gold star or a medal or a moneybag or a glittering coin or a pile of dirty greenish paper, whatever. No other special privileges, just the icon attached to comments, and the icon stays with the comment whether that person donates again later or not.

I’m thinking that if there were some tangible reward for donating, privileged access to the site for instance, I’d be forced to consider each time whether the reward was going to be worth it: “Well, I haven’t really felt like commenting much lately — so why don’t I wait to donate till I’m more likely to get my money’s worth?” If the “reward” is something totally worthless, however, like a hokey little icon next to my username, I’m going to be a lot more likely to donate just for the fun of it.

To those who missed the survey, it was only up one day…brief.

I’m a multiple-daily viewer, rare commenter, love the site, love the snark, love the passion, love the great research, love the values, truly love the writing.

Please keep up the great work….oh, LOVE Jane, hope she’s doing well…would it be wrong to mention what a hottie she is, too? Oh well, too late. Thanks.

I love your site, or is it a blogsite? …
So many places need money. I carry two newspaper subscriptions, three magazine subscriptions, and want to support everyone.

I hear you. But maybe all you need is The Nation, and your localy independent media website…and FDL!